Hiker Killed by Cliff Collapse Failed to Heed Sign

One hiker was killed and another is in critical condition after they ignored an advisory sign to go no further along Bear Valley Trail in the Marin County, California national park on Saturday.

John Dell’Osso, a spokesman for the U.S. National Park Service told ABC station KGO-TV in San Francisco, that the cliff collapsed and the twosome plummeted 60 feet smothered in rubble and rock.

Wednesday park officials erected signs at the trailhead cautioning hikers not to go forward along the Bear Valley trail because a fissure had developed at the  “tip” of the overlook. Dell’Osso said that a 24-inch by 40-inch sign at the beginning of the trail alerted the hikers.

Moreover, on the park service website, warnings were posted that hikers shouldn’t use the trail because fissures along the top of Arch Rock may have destabilized the cliff. “Bluffs along the California coast are inherently unstable. They are prone to crumbling and sliding,” the website explained. “It is very dangerous to climb or walk along the edge of cliffs.”

ABC News reported that one of the hikers was pronounced dead at the scene while the other was airlifted to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.